Keep your skin healthier this winter with these foods.

1. Grapefruit

Pick a pink one, though, because pink grapefruit gets its pink-red hue from lycopene, a carotenoid that may help to keep
your skin smooth. In a study published in 2008 in the European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, researchers
found that of the 20 individuals studied, those who had higher skin concentrations of lycopene had smoother skin. You can
also get lycopene from tomatoes, carrots, watermelon, guava and red peppers.

2. Coffee

Drinking a single cup of coffee daily may lower your risk of developing skin cancer. In one study of more than 93,000
women, published in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention, those who drank one cup of caffeinated coffee a day
reduced their risk of developing nonmelanoma skin cancer by about 10 percent. And the more they drank—up to about 6 cups
or so per day—the lower their risk. Decaf didn’t seem to offer the same protection.

3. Edamame

Edamame is rich in isoflavones—and isoflavones act like antioxidants, scavenging for and mopping up harmful free radicals
caused by sun exposure. Isoflavones may also help to preserve skin-firming collagen—which begins to decline starting in
our twenties.

4. Tofu

Tofu may help to preserve skin-firming collagen because it is rich in isoflavones. In a study published in the Journal of
the American College of Nutrition, mice fed isoflavones and exposed to ultraviolet radiation had fewer wrinkles and
smoother skin than mice that were exposed to UV light but didn’t get isoflavones. The researchers believe that
isoflavones help prevent collagen breakdown.

5. Egg Yolk

Egg yolks contain the carotenoid lutein, which like lycopene protects skin from UV damage. Lutein also helps to keep eyes
healthy—mounting research links lutein with reduced risk for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of
blindness in people over 50.

6. Tea

Research suggests caffeine in tea (coffee too) may help to protect your skin against skin cancer. Caffeine basically
kills precancerous and ultraviolet-damaged skin cells by blocking a protein that they need to divide, explains Paul
Nghiem, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of dermatology at the University of Washington Medical School. In a study where
mice were exposed to harmful sunburn-causing ultraviolet B rays caffeine inhibited the formation of skin tumors.

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7. Soymilk

Soymilk may help to preserve skin-firming collagen because it is rich in isoflavones. In a study published in the Journal
of the American College of Nutrition, mice fed isoflavones and exposed to ultraviolet radiation had fewer wrinkles and
smoother skin than mice that were exposed to UV light but didn’t get isoflavones. The researchers believe that
isoflavones help prevent collagen breakdown.

8. Carrots

Carrots contain the carotenoids beta carotene and lycopene—both of which may shield your skin against UV damage. In one
study, participants who were exposed to UV light had almost 50 percent less skin reddening after they drank about 1 2/3
cups of carrot juice or ate 2 1/2 tablespoons of tomato paste daily, in addition to their regular diet, for 10 to 12
weeks.

9. Tuna

Tuna—and other omega-3-rich fish—may help keep your skin looking youthful and prevent skin cancer. EPA (eicosapentaenoic
acid), one of the omega-3 fats in fatty fish, has been shown to preserve collagen, a fibrous protein that keeps skin
firm. And EPA in combination with the other omega-3 in fish, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), helps to prevent skin cancer by
reducing inflammatory compounds that can promote tumor growth, says Homer S. Black, Ph.D., professor emeritus in the
department of dermatology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Aim to eat two servings of fatty fish each week: not
only are the omega-3s good for your skin, they’re good for your heart too.

10. Broccoli

Eating more vitamin C-rich foods, such as broccoli, may help to ward off wrinkles and age-related dryness, suggests
research from 2007 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vitamin C’s skin-smoothing effects may be due to its
ability to mop up free radicals produced from ultraviolet rays and also its role in synthesizing collagen, a fibrous
protein that keeps skin firm.

11. Spinach

Spinach boasts lutein, a carotenoid that protects your skin from UV damage. When buying spinach, pick the one right up in
the light: new research, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, reveals that spinach stored
continuously under the light for as little as three days boasted higher levels of vitamin C and preserved levels of K, E,
folate and the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin.

12. Sardines

Sardines are one of the healthiest foods we can consume: they’re packed with the omega-3s DHA and EPA, as well as vitamin
D, which is found naturally in very few foods. The omega-3s may shield cell walls from free-radical damage caused by UV
rays, according to a 2009 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Sardines are also quick to reproduce and
have rebounded since the Pacific fishery crashed in the 1940s, so much so they are one of Seafood Watch’s “Super Green”
sustainable choices.

13. Pumpkin

Like lycopene, beta carotene—the compound that makes pumpkins orange—protects your skin from UV damage. Beta carotene is
also converted to vitamin A in the body, which helps to keep your eyes, bones and immune system healthy.

14. Cocoa

Cocoa (and tea and red wine) contain a type of flavonoid called epicatechin. In a study of 24 women, published in the
Journal of Nutrition, drinking an epicatechin-rich cocoa beverage daily for 12 weeks improved skin texture. The authors
explained that epicatechin increased blood flow to the skin, boosting nutrient and oxygen supply—both factors essential
for keeping skin healthy.